


Midnight

by tinytrash575



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: 6x01, F/M, Flashbacks, Friendship/Love, New Year's Eve, New Year's Kiss, Pack Feels, Post 5B, Scott Ships It, Underage Drinking, like seriously this whole fic is just one giant flashback
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-22
Updated: 2017-09-22
Packaged: 2019-01-04 05:39:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,882
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12162630
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tinytrash575/pseuds/tinytrash575
Summary: After the cheek kiss in 6x01, Lydia can't stop thinking about the last time Stiles kissed her on the cheek. Or, the To be happy part 2 that took me five months to think of.





	Midnight

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [To be happy](https://archiveofourown.org/works/10847661) by [tinytrash575](https://archiveofourown.org/users/tinytrash575/pseuds/tinytrash575). 



> Hey, it feels like I haven't written a fic in so long since I've been relying on 6B for inspiration and have so far had very little (not that I'm not liking 6B, but damn why does my otp have to be separated!!!!) But I ended up with this idea for like a second part to a fic I posted a few moths ago. Also I may have slipped some tiny references to some of my other fics in here. Enjoy.

_Lydia blinked, watching Stiles run off into the darkness, the ghost of his lips still lingering on her cheek. She bit her lip, feeling her heart rate start to slow. The slight chill in the night air was suddenly the only thing keeping her grounded as the memory of Stiles kissing her cheek replayed over and over again._

_She exhaled, figuring that she needed to go after him, so she shook her head once, forcing herself out of her love fuelled daze and started then to walk. Her chest tightened as the moment that had just passed between them continued to linger in the forefront of her mind, her heart still beating as rapidly as a butterfly’s wings. Letting out another deep breath, she told herself that they had more pressing issues to deal with than Stiles kissing her cheek, and that she needed to focus, but a part of her couldn’t help but think back to the last time he’d kissed her cheek. She’d barely got through that moment without it obliterating her. She didn’t think she could handle it again without her heart imploding._

_~_

It was New Year’s Eve, and the small party Scott was throwing at his house for the pack was in full swing. After a heart to heart with Scott, Lydia had allowed herself to spend time with Stiles the way they used to, no distance or awkwardness between them. They’d shared a drink together in the kitchen before settling back down on the couch where he had been sat with Malia before Scott had pulled her away, giving them some time alone.

This was the easiest around Stiles that Lydia had felt in a while. Ever since he’d rescued her from Eichen House, she felt that there was this new kind of energy between them. Not bad, just different, almost hesitant. It was as they were both dancing along the edge of a diving board with nothing to stop them jumping into the cool water below, and yet they were still both waiting. Lydia wondered if it was partially due to him being newly single, but it had been over a month now and the energy between the two of them still felt tentative.

They’d been talking about everything. How their winter vacations were going, their college applications, Lydia even brought up how Stiles had pulled her out of bed in the middle of the night to investigate possible supernatural incidents three times in the last week and a half. For Lydia at least, it felt as if it were just the two of them there. They hadn’t had a chance to speak at this length with each other since he stayed the night with her after they got her out of Eichen House. Taking down the beast had come before everything, and then so had Christmas. Aside from their nights spent out investigating, they’d hardly spent any time together.

Lydia laughed at something Stiles said, making sure that she looked him directly in the eyes and flashed him the widest, most genuine smile she could muster. After her conversation with Scott, she’d felt a little bolder about flirting with him. They were sitting so close that their sides were pressed against each other, the leg Lydia had crossed over her knee practically resting in his lap. She’d even rested her head on his shoulder a few times, remembering that she could always blame the wine if anyone called her on it and she panicked. Their laughter dissolved into another small silence, both of them glancing away from each other as they tried to think of their next conversation point.

“It’s getting close to midnight now, huh,” said Stiles, causing Lydia to glance over at the clock in the McCall’s living room. He was right. It was 11:47pm.

“Yeah, it is,” she responded, moving her gaze from the clock back to Stiles.

“Who did you kiss last year?” asked Lydia suddenly, trying not to visibly panic as soon as the words left her mouth. Why on earth had she said that? She internally cringed. It had just slipped out. Stupid expensive wine, Lydia mentally fumed, hoping Stiles couldn’t detect her inner turmoil.

“Stupid question. It was obviously Malia,” she added, shaking her head and dismissing herself as she tried to push the heat and nerves out of her chest and face. Stiles blinked at her, clearly fixating on a thought. Lydia tried to subtly avoid his eyes.

“Actually, I can’t remember if I kissed anyone at all,” said Stiles, which drew Lydia’s attention away from the living room carpet and back to his face. She shot him a puzzled expression, waiting for him to explain. She refused to admit to the feeling of relief that spread through her chest at his confession.

“I was wasted,” Stiles continued, wincing slightly as he clearly reflected on the memory. Lydia was suddenly even more confused.

“You were?” she asked slowly, narrowing her eyes at him. He returned her glance with disbelief.

“Couldn’t you tell?” he said loudly, almost snorting, like it had been incredibly obvious to everyone and he had no clue how she hadn’t noticed. Lydia realised then exactly why she hadn’t noticed.

That was the first New Years after Allison had died, and she and Stiles had been growing distant ever since Malia had flown into their lives. Lydia looked back on that evening, remembering how hurt she felt that they barely spoke to each other the entire time, and how jealous she was at how close he seemed to be with Malia, not that she admitted it was jealousy at the time. She’d stuck with Kira the whole night and deliberately tried to avoid being in the same room as them out of pride. Suddenly, what he was saying made sense, she’d just been too hurt and jealous at the time to really pay attention. “I guess not.”

“I didn’t feel like celebrating,” Stiles explained, the tone of his voice flattening as he talked about it. “I just wanted to forget the last couple months had happened.” He shot Lydia a sad smile, making her chest fill with regret at how angry she’d been at him over that night. He’d been going through a lot, and he told her as much when she confronted him for being so distant about a month later. Their first serious fight. “I was out of it before you and Kira even showed up.”

“I can’t really remember,” explained Lydia, her voice soft and quiet as she combed over her memories of that night with this newly acquired knowledge, mirroring Stiles’ thin smile. “It wasn’t exactly a fantastic night for me either.”

“Or Scott,” added Stiles, a harsh scoff of laughter vibrating in his throat. “He had to take care of me after you guys left.” Lydia shot him a look.

“Don’t worry, I definitely won’t be doing that again anytime soon,” he continued, emphasising the ‘definitely’ and the ‘that’. Lydia closed her eyes, shaking her head and gently laughing at him. “I suffered enough for it the next day.”

“I went home and cried my eyes out alone,” she added, commiserating their simultaneously disastrous night. She pushed away the reminder that one of the reasons she was crying was him, averting her eyes for a split second before bringing them back to meet his. “My next day was pretty messy too.”

“Not as messy as mine,” he laughed, grimacing. Lydia grimaced with him before starting to laugh too, watching Stiles shake his head. She saw a quick glimmer of regret at what he’d said shoot through his eyes, and Lydia felt a pang of sadness in her chest. She fought the urge to tell him that it was okay, that he didn’t need to feel self conscious about what he said to her because she appreciated the honesty. She appreciated how real and unfiltered he was with her right now, no matter what their topic of conversation. Seeing him like this, relaxed in a way that he hadn’t been in a very long time, no distance or awkwardness between them, made her heart fill with a warmth that she couldn’t describe in a way that would ever do it justice. She decided though that she would change the subject, for his sake, and because thinking of that night was starting to stir up unpleasant memories.

“Maybe we should talk about something a little less…” Lydia began after they’d stopped laughing, leaning a little closer to him and tilting her head slightly to one side.

“Disgusting,” Stiles finished for her.

“I was going to say miserable,” She responded, pursing her lips in momentary contemplation. “But sure, let’s go with disgusting.”

“But apparently I’m incapable of talking about anything that’s not weird, gross or related to the supernatural, so I’m not sure this new conversation is going to work,” Stiles replied jokingly, pulling the most exaggeratedly serious face he could manage, making Lydia laugh.

“Trust me,” she began, still grinning as amusement from his dorky antics filled her chest. “You talk so much that you’ll find a way to make it work.”

“It’s all part of my charm,” he replied exaggeratedly, making Lydia bite her lip to suppress a smile. _You may think you’re being sarcastic_ , she thought to herself, _but that charm is working_. Lydia was so lost in her thoughts that she didn’t even notice Scott and Malia rock up in front of them until they spoke.

“Hey guys,” said Scott cheerfully as she and Stiles both looked up at them. “What are you talking about?”

“Last year’s New Years Eve party,” Lydia answered, somewhat thankful for the distraction as her face was starting to feel more flushed than it should.

“Oh what,” snorted Malia, directing her gaze towards Stiles. “You mean the one where I had to help him walk all night.” She finished her sentence by pointing at him.

“Yeah,” Stiles replied, shooting Malia an awkward look. “That one.” There was a pause, music from the stereo and the sound of Liam celebrating a win on the Wii filled the background.

“Mind if we sit?” asked Scott, motioning to the empty space next to Lydia. Lydia almost wanted to shoot him a look questioning why he felt the need to ask for permission to sit down in his own home, but then she remembered that after their conversation he had deliberately got them alone together to talk. He probably thought things were going better than they were, not that Lydia was complaining at how things had been going.

“No,” she answered with a smile, noticing that he was deliberately looking at her for confirmation. “Not at all.” Scott sat down next to Lydia, but there wasn’t enough space on the couch for Malia so she sat on the floor in front of them, her knees poking through the gaping holes in her jeans as she crossed her legs.

“So, who are we all going to kiss this year?”Asked Scott in an it-would-actually-be-eerie-if-it-wasn’t-deliberate repeat of Stiles and Lydia’s previous conversation, causing all of their heads to turn towards him. “Those four are already paired up.” He pointed to Liam, Hayden, Mason and Corey on the other side of the room.

Lydia felt her heart start to hammer in her chest, and she could feel herself starting to glare at Scott, to which he only responded with his familiar kind smile, which she suddenly wanted to wipe right off his face. Luckily Malia broke the silence.

“I don’t know,” she said, resting her elbow on her leg and her chin on her hand. “You were my kiss last year, since he was barely even awake.” She turned her head towards Stiles.

“Told you I didn’t kiss anyone last year,” Stiles then responded loudly, turning to Lydia and pointing victoriously like he’d just won a bet. Malia looked extremely confused.

“Actually you said you couldn’t remember,” argued Lydia, a satisfyingly superior tone to her voice. Stiles stuck his tongue out at her before screwing his face up in contemplation.

“Wait. You guys kissed at New Year?” he exclaimed, passing a puzzled expression from Malia to Scott.

“On the cheek,” Scott clarified, smiling slightly. “I was too nervous to ask Kira since we weren’t officially dating yet, and she said that she’d kiss Lydia on the cheek-”

“So I didn’t feel left out,” Lydia finished for him, remembering Kira’s kind gesture at a time where she felt like the odd one out in the pack because the others were all almost-couples. She met Scott’s eyes. “I remember.”

“How about we do that tonight?” suggested Scott after a short pause.

“Do what?” asked Stiles.

“All of us kiss each other on the cheek,” he explained, enthusiasm for his plan bursting through his voice. “So none of us feel the need to pair up.”

Lydia felt a strange sensation shoot through her body, a swirling combination of excitement and relief. This way she and Stiles would kiss each other and none of it would be at all indicative of her feelings for him. _Smart, McCall_ , thought Lydia. _Very smart_. As if he knew exactly what she was thinking, Scott gave Lydia a knowing smile.

“It makes sense,” Lydia announced the first agreement with the plan. Her entire insides tingling so much that she had to subtly try and slow her breathing without any of them noticing.

“I’m cool with that,” nodded Malia in agreement from the floor. The last person to comment was Stiles.

“As long as we aren’t facing those guys while we do it,” he finally responded, pointing towards the younger group on the other side of the room. “I’ve seen enough of Liam’s tongue in Hayden’s mouth to last me a lifetime.”

“Hey,” called Liam from in front of the TV, looking considerably offended.

“We were all thinking it Liam,” Stiles called back, tilting his head up in a way that Lydia couldn’t help but admire.

As they all laughed at Stiles responding to Liam, Lydia noticed Mason move towards the TV. She watched him as he turned off the Wii and put regular TV on, flicking through the channels until he found the one that would be showing the San Francisco fireworks display. Everyone turned their attention towards the TV, where a ten second count down was about to start.

“Here goes,” said Scott enthusiastically, exchanging a glance with Lydia before focusing back on the TV as the pack started to count down from ten together. Ten, nine, eight, the seconds were passing like minutes to Lydia, who could feel her heart beating so fast that she thought it would break out of her chest and her nerves so alight that the slightest brush against her made her shiver.

When the countdown ended and the fireworks began, the pack all began to kiss each other. The younger two couples moved in for full on kisses on the lips, and Scott pulled Lydia towards him to start off their agreed cheek kissing plan. She and Scott exchanged kisses as Stiles and Malia did, before Lydia leant towards the floor and kissed Malia on the cheek, feeling the Werecoyote’s warm breath on hers. Finally she sat back up, her stomach flipping as she leaned towards Stiles, kissing him on the cheek.

Her eyes closed as she pressed her lips to his cheek, breathing in the familiar scent that clung to him. Her head was spinning so much that she almost gasped when his lips found her skin, the warmth of his mouth taking her by surprise as his hand moved up to gently grasp the top of her arm. Lydia bit her lip to keep herself from exploding as she melted into the feeling of him kissing her cheek, his lips lingering for a second longer than she thought was considered reasonable.

After they separated, Lydia felt her face flush so quickly she wondered if her blood were on fire. She felt dizzy. All the noise in the room, from the fireworks on the TV and the whooping cheers from the others and the rhythmic thumping of her blood in her ears, made it hard for her to ground herself. Her skin was tingling where his lips had touched it.

“Is it just me,” said Malia, breaking the silence as she glanced over at Scott. “Or is it really loud in here?”

“It is,” Scott replied.

“It sounds like heartbeats,” Malia added.

Lydia felt a burst of panic shoot through her chest, and in order to try and not look obvious, she risked a glance at Stiles. Their eyes met briefly, shy and fleeting, before he quickly pulled his away from her and back towards the TV, a noticeably pink colour to his cheek surrounding the faded red mark of her lipstick. Lydia drew her eyes away equally as fast, wishing that there was a little more space between them so that things didn’t feel quite so hot, so stifling. She blinked, biting her lip as she tried to contain the smile that threatened to spread across her face and ruin any image of subtlety she had created.

“It’s probably just the fireworks,” Scott replied, glancing down the couch at Stiles and Lydia, who sat quietly avoiding each other’s gaze.


End file.
